I am no longer going to be writing business blogs. I am concentrating my energy on leadership where I see a great lack of in today’s world.
I thank you for reading and commenting on my blogs and I wish you the best in your endeavors.
You can find my leadership blog on WordPress.com or at my website evolutioncbl.com
Again thank you for your support and hope that you are successful in your business.
A recent event has come to my attention that is tragic from the human standpoint and tragic from a business standpoint.
Let me preface this with saying that the company vehicle has GPS in it so as to keep tabs on the location and duration on location of the vehicle.
A phone company employee while out at a site performed his duty and when he got back in his truck suffered a fatal heart attack. This is the human tragedy of this story. I was told he was a good man and well liked.
The business tragedy is that no managers thought anything of his truck being on location for the 24 hrs it took to finally check on him and find him there. No manager thought to call to see if he needed assistance or what was taking him so long.
The company approach and rehearsed speech from management was there was nothing we could have done. While this is true how the human dignity side of things that you do not care about your employees safety and well being enough to utilize the equipment given you to do just that. You did not do what you were supposed to do with a tool given you to ensure your people are okay and working and if they need assistance.
The other tragedy for this business it is has further eroded the relationship between workers and management. Destroyed the morale of the worker and it doesn’t even take into account the lack of moral and ethical behavior on the part of management.
This is one of the major problems that has been eroding American business for years and it is coming to a head. It further makes me think that my blog on the Peter Principle hitting its saturation point in more true every day.
As I am sure we have all realized that the 2008 Recession was not a normal recession and that the mechanisms that have caused it have not been corrected or are even being considered for repair.
Since it wasn’t a normal recession how can the economist state that we are out of it while it is still occurring?
You can’t believe the unemployment numbers because after you have exhausted your benefits you are no longer counted in the equation plus their is no way to track how many seekers have become so frustrated they have stopped looking. Also the numbers of job opening up are not high paying jobs and are fragile to say the least.
It has been said that the USA is the largest market for world products. This market is systematically being destroyed. The other markets have their share of problems caused by the same mechanisms that caused our recession so they are not capable of picking up the slack and emerging markets are not at a point to pick it up either. The largest potential market China is being protected by protectionism so it is hard to break into.
Our economy is on a roller-coaster ride. It is going to continue to fluctuate and oscillate for more years than I want to consider. One only has to average out the valleys and peaks and see that the slope of the line is not an upward trend but a slippery slope to oblivion.
Catch 22 or the vicious circle
For the market to survive they need customers to buy their products.
The customers need a means to earn money to have free cash to spend in the markets.
If markets lay off people it produces less customers for other markets which requires more layoffs.
Therefore you have a dwindling base of customers and shrinking markets.
To survive companies look at mergers and acquisitions to strengthen their position in the market which produces less customers for other markets AKA more layoffs.
In order for all markets to regain strength then all markets need to hire people to induce cash into the markets. This requires investors willing to wait for their returns while the market corrects.
Now in a normal recession only a few markets take a hit so the other markets and stronger companies in the hit market can pick up new employees while the market corrects and keeps things somewhat balanced.
In the 2008 recession every market took a hit and a large hit at that. One market took down another which took down another it was a domino effect.
Key markets that have been relied on in the past to signal recovery are struggling and are going through double digit trends of up and down. All markets are learning to run lean and mean so they are essentially shooting themselves in the foot because their customer base is shrinking in their largest market.
Simple supply and demand economics are in effect you have an increasing supply and a dwindling demand. One must entice demand to reduce the supply. The only problem these days is all the enticing in the world cannot overcome the loss of the customer base due to unemployment and the fear factor that employees have that they could loose their jobs tomorrow. SO markets continue to suffer.
Emerging markets do not have the customer base to pick up the slack and it could take years before that market is in a position to be as effective.
So investors and companies have a choice, they can continue to stick their heads in the sand and ignore the reality of what is going on or they can pool their resources to develop a plan on how to re-establish their greatest market.
Where do you fit into all this roller coaster ride.
I am sure we have all been asked at one time or another if we could spot the arrow in the Fed Ex logo. I have actually heard people say yeah but it is backwards how stupid it is pointing in the wrong direction.
Let us stop for a minute and picture the arrow between the E and the X. Think about the genius behind this. While it may be purely accidental or even on purpose the marketing messages it can inspire are really and truly unique.
While looking at the FED EX logo on the side of a trailer this morning it dawned on me two messages that it could bring.
1.) If you have a package that needs to get some place toss it in the trailer we will get it there.
2.) If you are looking for our competition there back there somewhere!
Even a variation on the first one, If you are looking for logistics place parcel here.
I am sure that you can come up with others.
Now you may not use FED EX but you have to admit that the message one can contrive from a simple arrow are genius.
Can you think of any more?
Do you have a genius logo? If so please share it here.
I have noticed in the UPS online ads that are using a arrow as well. Interesting!
I have noticed a lack of professionalism in the professional groups that I am in in LinkedIn. I was wondering if it is just me or the members of these groups that do not get it.
Let me start by saying that in LinkedIn and on Twitter I find way to much self promotion with a lack of follow up from those with questions. I find people placing posts with no relevance to the purpose of the group.
Even in the discussions there appears to be a lack of professionalism in the comments and thoughts being put forth. At times the reply given isn’t on topic at all.
So it begs me to wonder if professionalism has changed to be more like social media i.e. Facebook or is it dying all together.
A friend tells me she has seen the change since the incorporation of business casual.
What do you think?
Well I hope nobody sold their business and all their worldly possessions to prepare for the rapture.
Since the time has come and gone it is time to get back to reality and back to business.
What business do I speak of?
Well the rapture might have brought relief for some business owners but since it didn’t happen there is the reality that the economy is still on the slow climb with many bumps in the road.
We still have to deal with customers that are more highly informed or persuaded by what they find on the internet. We still have to find ways to use social media to be a part of the community as a partner not just as a door to door salesman.
We have to be willing to give up some information but at the same time not give away the store.
The best way to do this is to provide product knowledge on our sites. To provide techniques for using products if this does give away business dollars. To provide general information about what it may take to perform a project yourself versus having a professional perform it. This could be anything from remodeling a kitchen, landscaping your yard, or installing an irrigation system.
If your business is selling insurance then talk about each type of policy and add on or rider in plain English so they can understand it. Explain the differences between individual, business and corporate insurance policies.
Our customers are thirsting for knowledge and will migrate toward those that provide it.
Maybe even provide a little tongue in cheek humor on how to survive a Rapture if you are left behind. Make sure you label it as humor with a disclaimer.
.I myself was asking people where I could purchase anti-vibration pads for the bottom of my shoes for the stagger home.
I posed a question on Facebook the other day that had a deep metaphorical meaning in my mind at least.
If you are walking down the road with a gallon of milk in one hand would you be seen as a cereal killer?
It sounds like I was trying to be funny or satirical and perhaps I was a little. But it also made me think alot about perception and bias and how it plays a role in our perception.
Below are two photos, what are your perceptions and bias looking at them?
If you are like most people you would rather do business with the person in the second photo. The person in the first photo you would envision as a thug a trouble maker a rebel a “badass biker”. However they are one in the same person.
They are both pictures of me. I like to motorcycle tour and the leather is for safety in case I get knocked off my bike by someone in a car or truck. I am the same person either way.
I was once asked if I would be scared if I was broken down on the side of the road and a biker stopped to help me. I said I would feel safer with a biker stopping than someone in a car even if the biker had the appearance of a “badass” biker. Why? Because I would know that he stopped to help me not harm me. Now if it were the Hell’s Angels or the Devils Disciples I would be a little concerned as they are not know as good Samaritans. But that is historical fact not perception.
So while you are conducting business do not automatically let your bias and perception get the best of you. Stay open minded at least until you can be proven right or wrong. You may find out that your perception and bias would have cost you a great customer and evangelist for your business.
In a closing note if your business is say an ice cream stand or a fast food joint think about on your slow nights sponsoring a bike night or car night. It will be bring in business on the slow days for you. Most bike nights that I have attended bring in 60+ bikes and people will stop to eat and look at the bikes.
